Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) Subject to subsection (3), the following persons must have regard to the principles set out in subsection (2) when making any decision or taking any action under this Act—
(a) the Chief Commissioner;
(b) a person to whom a duty, function or power of the Chief Commissioner under this Act has been delegated;
(c) a police officer;
(d) an approved authority or an officer of an approved authority.
Note
The principles set out in this section are to be read in conjunction with the central objective stated in section 3AAA.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the following principles apply—
(a) witness protection and assistance is intended to remove or reduce barriers to cooperation in criminal investigations and prosecutions and should not be provided as a reward or inducement;
(b) as far as practicable, there should be a clear separation of the investigative and the protective functions of Victoria Police;
(c) the decision to protect a witness should be determined primarily by reference to the risk incurred by the person as a consequence of the person's participation in, or cooperation with, the criminal justice system;
(d) protection and assistance provided to a witness under this Act should be tailored to the individual circumstances and risk faced by the witness and the community;
(e) the safety of the witness should take priority over the successful conduct of a prosecution;
(f) the interests of children involved in, or affected by, the provision of witness protection and assistance should be separately considered and their welfare should be a powerful factor in decision making;
(g) there should be public accountability for the operation of the witness protection and assistance provided under this Act, subject to the need to safeguard—
(i) the health and safety of any person; and
(ii) the effective conduct of any investigation or intelligence-gathering in relation to criminal activity; and
(iii) the overall integrity of the Victorian witness protection program and the provision of alternative protection arrangements under this Act.
(3) The principles set out in subsection (2) do not apply to the exercise of a statutory duty under this Act where there is no discretion involved in the performance of that duty.
(4) The Parliament does not intend by this section to create in any person any legal right or give rise to any civil cause of action.
Pt 2 (Heading) inserted by No. 43/2014 s. 6.
Part 2—Witness protection and assistance
Pt 2 Div. 1 (Heading) inserted by No. 43/2014 s. 6.
Division 1—Victorian witness protection program
S.
3A
inserted by No. 58/1996 s. 5.